VIA and Aptec bring Cyrix back to the Middle East

Aiming for the lower end of the market, VIA is introducing Cyrix processors back in to the region, gunning for the sub-$1000 PC market.

VIA Technologies is going after the sub-US$50 CPU market locally through Aptec, with the re-introduction of Cyrix to the Middle East.

VIA is the world’s leading supplier of core logic chipsets for both the Intel Pentium III and AMD Athlon processor-based PC platforms, and following the purchase in 1999 of the Cyrix and Centaur design teams from National Semiconductor and IDT respectively, aims to be the market leader for processors used in sub-$1000 value PC systems.

In evaluating the market, Richard Brown, VIA Technologies’ marketing director said that the company is on the right track in terms of products.

“In the next few years, with a growing market, and with the Internet starting to grow, people are asking what kind of PC they should be buying. Education facilities for example, can use the Web, but with limited budgets, they need cheap devices to get the most for their money. At the low-end of the market, the sub-$50 end, there is only one player. We’re pretty clear where we are,” he said.

The agreement between Aptec and VIA covers the distribution of the VIA Cyrix MII and VIA Cyrix III processors in the Middle East and African markets.